


(Those Lost) In Mists of Time

by roxasthatsastick



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And Lots of It, Angst and Humor, Background Character Death, Gen, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts Chi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 04:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7876381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxasthatsastick/pseuds/roxasthatsastick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are many worlds still sleeping in the darkness. Riku just ended up in the wrong one. Now in a world that seems to break all his expectations, what can he do but go with the flow and try to complete his test anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Those Lost) In Mists of Time

Riku woke to the grit of stone pressing into his cheek. Again. The fact he was getting used to that was horrible. Still, despite how much that had been happening lately, fact was that he had been finishing up in The Grid before he collapsed. Which was conspicuously void of stone anything.

Then the noise of an enemy materializing rang out ( _Sounds more like a heartless portal_ , he thought, _than a dream eater portal but-_ ), and how he had left the last world stopped being quite as important. He pushed himself up and stared into the bright yellow eyes of a Darkside. Which proceeded to essentially slap him in the face.

 

It was at this moment that Riku realized that, yes, that was a living(?) breathing(?) Darkside over there, and that no, he hadn’t “woken up” and was still in the Realm of Sleep. Which was another giant contradiction in an increasingly baffling situation, but Riku decided quite professionally that it didn’t matter. The deadly prefix was more important than the impossible prefix anyways.

Riku lurched to his feet unsteadily. Something about being flung bodily across a –where was he?– a town square just after waking up made it really hard to get your feet. Holding out a hand, Riku brought out a keyblade. It wasn’t a particularly familiar blade with the blue silver star on the end, but deadly threats really helped distract a guy from niggling suspicions and questions.  
  
Before Riku could actually make any moves toward _not dying_ , a light blue figure flashed by and pushed back the Darkside. The figure, dressed in complex robes and a strange horned mask, paused before Riku, then dashed away.

Which left Riku with no answers but instead an unfamiliar keyblade, and a giant cat, which had somehow mysteriously and inexplicably appeared, to solve these problems.

* * *

 

It was always incredible what you’d miss, even after only a couple days away. It was something Riku had learned intimately that year after Sora went to sleep. Of course, he never really expected to miss collapsing every five minutes, but after a couple days of it, it’d be hard not to be shocked.

Of course, none of that would change the facts, nor was escape even remotely possible.

The cat continued its seemingly well practiced introduction speech. “Anyway,” it purred, “it will be about a week before we give you any serious duties. Until then, let’s get you settled!”

 

At least this world wasn’t going to throw him directly into whatever job he had been roped into without his consent. Riku still wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, with this situation, his keyblade, nor whatever task he knew was coming. “Where?” he asked the cat. “You have apartments for new people or something?”

“Oh no, that’d be far too expensive.” The cat somehow managed to shake its head. “There’s a moogle run hotel just off town square. One of the rooms was emptied a few days ago.”

Riku nodded warily. “Expensive? And this hotel isn’t?”

The cat was silent for a moment. This was not reassuring. “The owner is apparently understanding…?”

“Of…what…??” 

“Well, the first two weeks can be payed in chores and errands. It’s good for getting to know the area…” the cat trailed off. Riku was certain that cat definately was as new to this as he.

“Alright, after that though, how much is it?” Riku asked.

“50,000 munny per night? It’s apparently still pretty cheap for the area.” That was not cheap. That was 5 star hotel pricing. _What the hell._

“How do I make enough for _that_?”

“Oh, your wages cover that easily.”

This economy was broken. Least Riku would be rich after he finished getting the keyhole in this world.

* * *

The last couple of, what– days? What _was_ time in the Realm of Sleep? –Riku had been working purely on errands. The owner of the local inn he was staying at gave him tasks to do to pay for the next couple weeks of his stay. Honestly, Riku almost didn’t see the point. Everyone acted like he was the real new recruit for this Union, but he really was an outsider. As soon as he found the Sleeping Keyhole he’d be on his way. If it was anything like the last three worlds, he’d be in and out in a day, no questions asked, done and dusted.

Except… He was still here. And so, today he was off on his first true mission, according to Chirithy the cat, his one contact on this god forsaken world. “Keyblade wielders have to help preserve the balance, and protect the light! Now! For your first outing, how about… taking a look around Dwarf Woodlands? Not too hard an area, which is purrrrrfect.”

Yeah, Riku had absolutely no opinion. It didn’t sound familiar, that was as far as his thoughts went about it.

It was only after he’d been there about thirty seconds that he revised that opinion. “ _What is that_?!”

“It’s a Heartless!” Chirithy replied. “That… isn’t what you meant, huh…”

It was not.

This was the Realm of Sleep. Which, supposedly, had no Heartless. Was Riku even there anymore? He was in the same outfit and age as he had been in the Realm of Sleep…

All the Heartless were completely destroyed by the time he came out of his thoughts. Grimly he surveyed the already dissipating smoke.

Apparently confusion was super effective.

* * *

About a month after Riku joined the Unicornus Union, he finally met one of the illusive members of his ‘party.’

Another pebble hit the side of his head. Riku gave up and finally greeted the newcomer. “…Yes?”

The culprit, a girl dressed in some strange combination of a sundress and pirate outfit, sighed over dramatically. “Finally. Y’know, normally, I wouldn’t go out of my way to meet a new party member like this, _but.._.”

She stared at him for a long moment while gesturing up and down at him.

 _Is being a keyblade master worth this? Is it really?_ Riku gave the idea of just turning around and finding any other Sleeping World, _any_ other, to free it instead, for a moment. Then he released his breath. “..Yes? But what.”

The girl’s eyes hardened. “Your outfit is out of date by at least a year, and I  _know_ these are just your starting clothes. Have you even seen the clothing in the shops these last few months? Do you even own a change of clothes?”

That Riku flinched at that. It doesn’t matter how magical your clothes might be, or how they are enchanted to never get dirty. There was something innatly horrifying about wearing the same pair of underwear for 3 months straight. And somehow, standing in front of washing machine naked was worse. “Maybe.”

Her expression was completely flat. “You are coming with me, and we are going to get you _at least_ two more outfits. Right now. No argument.”

He didn’t.

* * *

Clothing was serious business in Daybreak Town, Riku discovered. Outfits were mostly won or traded for in specific seasons, so Nanna had requisitioned a bunch of old clothing from _somewhere_. He didn’t know where and the look in her eyes didn’t make him want to find out.

Nanna clapped her hands. "Alright. We’re only allowed to get you two changes of clothing out of this mess, the less expensive the better!" 

"Less expensive?” Riku side-eyed her. “Isn’t it usually the opposite?”

Nanna laughed falteringly. “Well, if we take anything too… premium it’ll be a bit obvious.”

These were definitely stolen. Actually wouldn’t the more suspicious thing be that she had stolen that much clothing in the first place? Where did she get it even? He sorta wanted bury his face in the wall but Riku could outlast this. Really. He could.

There was a huge variety of clothing, though. A few standard outfits that Riku had seen newer people wear. On one wall sat a large box of armbands and gloves. On another rack was a collection of brightly colored armor-like _things_ that Riku silently swore to go nowhere near.

Nanna gazed speculatively at him and hummed. Turning, she grabbed a set of a standard blue and yellow outfit, a casual black jacket, and a bright pink monstrosity. “Alright, I want to see all three of these, chop chop!”

* * *

Everyone in Daybreak Town was running around this morning, somehow despite everything being completely quiet just an hour before. The moogles had special stalls set up, with several colorful billboards beside them. In front were crowds of wielders from all Unions chatting excitedly about whatever had happened. Center stage was a poster of a “brand new keyblade” up for sale, that Riku had just gotten in the mail this morning. Huh.

Nanna ran over, arms stacked with strange plants and potions. “Hey! It’s the big day!”

“The day?”

“Of the event! I think it is supposed to be the anniversary of something or another, but no one really cares about that stuff.” What wonderful and crucial information, yet again Nanna pulls through for him. “Anyways, this year there’s a brand new exclusive keyblade as the prize!”

Riku summoned his keyblade and looked at it and then back at her. “How is this exclusive? I got it in the _mail_. Literally everyone has one.”

“You can only upgrade it during the event! I mean, that’s the only way to…I think.” Nanna trailed off.

“..Riiiight. So, how’s the event work?”

“Right, this is the first event you’ve been to while you were in town. Usually you’re off on missions, you hard worker, you. So, see that billboard? That’s like the normal mission board you usually go to, but these have special prizes for completion.” Nanna shifted the pile of prizes slightly in her arms. “It’s basicly the only way to really make it around here, event missions. Maybe. Anyway, I’m off!”

Nanna charged back out of the plaza, dropping small seeds from her pile all the while. Riku chuckled at her back. Always busy, that one.

Turning back to the crowd, the plaza remained just as impenetrable as it was before. Dozens swarmed in and out, mission tickets in hand. Parties of wielders clogged all of the streets leading to the area.

Riku sighed, and began forcing his way to the billboard. If the event was going on he might as well take advantage of it. Maybe in the evening he could see if events involved festival food. For now he needed to make money to pay for it.  

* * *

Lunch with the team was a weekly affair in the end. Once a week, some of his party members(read as _Nanna_ ) would kidnap him and they’d gather in a small moogle run cafe in downtown Daybreak Town. The place had great atmosphere and average but decent food. Sandwiches, candlelight, and a few drinks.

It was nice.

Riku eventually realized that he had a team unlike Nanna’s forceful personality. She was unique in that respect, but he found his teammates a welcome contrast, by far more laidback and easy going compared to Nanna. Unexpectedly, this world was offering more than just headaches.

* * *

It wasn’t really hard to miss the fight. Pretty much everyone in the square was watching it, covertly or not. Someone from Leopardus and a guy from Ursus were arguing about who the traitor was. Obviously, this conversation was going nowhere given both blamed the other.

The traitor.

The traitor had dominated the rumor mills for months. The rumor mills only said there was a traitor not what they had betrayed, or done. The tensions rose anyway.

At this point Riku wondered if perhaps he should have figured out how to spy on the Foretellers, the Union leaders; it might have been easier than using the rumor mill to figure out what was going down. Things were reaching a fever pitch as ugly rumors festered regarding Union relations and the counter-group, the Dandelions. The Dandelions, a group that apparently knew ahead of time that relations were going south and were trying to get wielders to quit the Unions in order escape the inevitable war. This naturally made them pariahs.

Riku honestly had no clue who was right at this point, he just knew that there was no real point joining them, when he had no intention to fight a war anyway.

But war… Surely things hadn’t gotten that bad around here?

* * *

The face in the mirror was a little too familiar this morning. It wasn’t like it was that surprising, over the months he could see his body growing a bit taller every so often.

But this face was the one on the ‘outside.’ The one Riku had before he sort of, not quite, went back in time.

Had he really been here so long?

Yes, yes, he had. Riku really should have kept better track of time, it’d been at least 6 months… But for this particular face, it had to have been at least a year. 

Wow.

Riku turned abruptly from the bathroom window and hurried on with his morning routine, not really eager to think about that. But of course, things are never that simple. Through all his tasks that day, and the rest of that week, the thought remained.

( _Am I still going to be willing to leave for good when I find the keyhole?_ )

But this was the Realm of Sleep…and all dreams end sometime.

* * *

The end had come. Things were, in fact, that bad.  
  
Somehow, Riku was still caught off guard.  
  
It had been, what, a year since he started off in this particular world? He had never intended to stay so long, but every day he’d perform his 'missions’ and look for the keyhole. And then it never appeared.  
  
After a while Riku would even forget for a moment this was the Realm of Sleep. He’d been fighting a Heartless, or chatting with a partner when the world would suddenly tilt. 'But wait,’ his brain would cut in, 'this is just a Sleeping World. It’s not real’ Most of the time everything was just normal, and then everything would hit him again.

And now the war had ended, the world was ending, and here Riku was, dying with nothing to show for it. 

Riku stared a bit bleakly at the ruins below. Up from his cliff, you could really see the graveyards. Thousands of keyblades sat in lines, proof of the death of a civilization. His keyblade wouldn’t be joining that line, no matter what. Not actually existing in the original timeline helped with that goal.

Honestly, the Master in Training couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it coming, looking back.”'Why hadn’t he heard of a city of keyblade wielders,” ha. This was the Realm of Sleep, idiot. For a world to be here, it had to have fallen into darkness. With so many wielders, fat chance that would be natural. Not that natural means much, but anyways. Everyone’s dead. And he’s still stuck.

Maybe if he survived till the world reset, he could try finding the Keyhole of Sleep again? Or would he get reset too. Hrm. Honestly this was shaping up to be a really bad choice.

God, Riku could see the hearts of thousands floating up into the sky. It was like a twisted reverse snow, it was so thick. That last battle really had been…something. Something horrifically deadly, but the light show had certainly been a real sight. If terrifying. Numbly, Riku found himself wondering if this crumpled heap could possibly be a friend, a party member, even Nanna? The thought was unbearable. 

But with so many hearts floating up maybe Kingdom Hearts itself would appear soon? It’d be fake, but this had to be at least as many hearts as Organization XIII ever got.

Riku attempted to push his back up the cliffside a little more. Pretty much all of his spine protested but he probably ought to get moving. At least try and see about exiting the Realm of Sleep at worst.

A few seconds of vague stabbing and tearing pain later, he mentally went over his storage again. Any potion would do now, even one of those creepy knock off brands two week past due that Riku sometimes saw in moogle black markets. Even those.

Yeah, his pockets were empty. Magic stores? Enough for a single cure, but somehow his heart of hearts slightly doubted a cure could fix his 1001 bruises, broken ribs, and whatever else happened when he got thrown into the wall by…whatever that was. Riku had caught a glimpse of flash of light and saw everyone else thrown away, but he still had no clue what it was. Backdraft from blowing a hole in that mountain? Who knows, and this point, who will? Given the lack of living people around.

“Whatever.” he muttered. “Cure.”

A few sparks of green light landed around his barely functional body, and man did he feel better. It was like his ribs weren’t throbbing, but at least half the bruises around his spine had to be healed now.

Riku grunted and stabbed his keyblade into the earth. Slowly, so slowly, he rose upright. And above him, the clouds began to part revealing a blue light.

Kingdom Hearts. The blue hue to it might have been a bit unfamiliar, but there was no way Riku wouldn’t recognize it after what happened back then. Rays of light shown down on something in the middle of the graveyard, but Riku didn’t really register it.

Mostly, he saw the light of the keyhole, just in front. Finally.

Riku shifted his balance and brought his blade up towards the fake Heart. 

Finally, the last keyhole was unlocked.

Light shown, bright and comforting.

**Author's Note:**

> By the way, the OC in this is technically canon! They’re based on a Wielder you could find in the field during the 3rd Anniversary event. She has several lines of dialogue, and the last line she has on screen is her asking for her missing partner. The name is from Norse folklore, I thought I should keep it tied in with the other names in Chi.
> 
> (In case you're wondering, after this, Riku is put back on track for the plot and ends up in the World that Never Was. However, Sora is a bit off track still... Riku is in Sora's dream after all.)


End file.
